Entries in Amber Alert
(23)

iStockPhoto/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The suspected kidnapper of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson was killed in Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness by FBI agents on Saturday afternoon, according to San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore.

40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio had been spotted with Anderson in Idaho on Friday night, prompting a manhunt that included local and federal authorities.

DiMaggio is also suspected of killing Anderson’s mother and brother.

The kidnapping was first reported by a state-wide Amber Alert last Sunday night.

Amberalert.com(SPRINGFIELD, Mo.) -- Police in Springfield, Mo., said Saturday night they have found a 13-month-old girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert after she was abducted from a grocery store parking lot earlier in the day.

Harmony Blue and her 4-year-old brother were left inside a 2002 gray Nissan Maxima while their father ran into the grocery store, Springfield police said in a news release.

A white woman with blonde hair was then seen taking off in the vehicle with the children. The suspect is not believed to have any relation to the family, authorities said.

The 4-year-old boy was dropped off later in the afternoon and was reunited with his father.

Several hours later police announced they had also found Harmony Blue, but aside from saying that she was safe and back with her family, they gave no other details.

They said they were still investigating to determine who was responsible for the girl’s kidnapping.

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(HOUSTON) -- An 11-year-old Texas girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert after police said she was was abducted by her mother, has been found safe, and her mother is in custody.

A Child Protective Services spokesperson in Trinity County told ABC News affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston that Savannah Hurley was found there Tuesday afternoon. No other details were immediately avaiable.

"It was a child custody thing," Trinity County Chief Deputy Billy Patton told ABC News earlier Tuesday. "They were going to remove the kid from the mother and the grandmother got involved."

Patton said that when authorities and Child Protective Services arrived at the house of the girl's mother, Shelly Jean Hurley, 46, in The Woodlands, Texas, to take Savannah, the little girl was not there.

"The mother jumped in a car and headed to the grandmother's house," Patton said. "The grandmother gave the child to the mother and they were gone. They left and we had no idea which direction they went in."

Patton would not say why CPS was taking Savannah away from her mother. Savannah's maternal grandmother is in custody for allegedly interfering with child custody.

Hurley took off with Savannah in a white Ford pickup truck, but police found that car and said that Hurley had switched to a 1996 maroon Subaru Legacy station wagon with an Alabama license plate.

When police located the Legacy in Mesquite, just outside Dallas, neither Savannah nor her mother were found there.

Investigators said they believe the duo initially fled to The Woodlands area and started heading north, according to KTRK. They said they thought Hurley might have been planning to eventually take Savannah to Florida.

Stark County Sheriff's Office(TOULON, Ill.) -- An Amber Alert has been issued in Illinois for a 3-week-old baby girl who was kidnapped in front of a post office Thursday.

Mia Graci Thompson was abducted in Toulon, Ill., a small town about 150 miles southwest of Chicago, on Wednesday morning at around 8:10 a.m.

She was taken from the back seat of a vehicle, according to the Stark County Sheriff's Office.

Mia is eight pounds and 21 inches long. She is white and has blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a yellow onesie with a flower on the left shoulder and blue jeans with pink flowers on the cuffs, the Amber Alert says.

Police believe the suspect is a white female with brown hair who was wearing yellow sweatpants. The woman was driving a gold or tan Buick or Pontiac and authorities said the back seat of her car is full of items.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children categorized the case as a "Non Family Abduction," but police could not provide further details about the circumstances of the abduction.

The Amber Alert was issued by Illinois State Police.

Authorities are asking that anyone with information call the Stark County Sheriff's Office at 309-286-2541 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEWBURGH, N.Y.) -- Newburgh, N.Y., police Thursday afternoon called off their investigation of a possible child abduction after determining that the kids who reported the incident had fabricated the entire story as a prank.

"We investigated every possible lead in determining whether the abduction had occurred with the interest of any possible victim in mind," the NPD said in a statement. "There is no indication that the abduction or any incident that could be perceived as an abduction had occurred."

Officials had already cancelled an AMBER Alert Thursday morning issued 16 hours earlier after a group of children, some as young as 5, reported the abduction of a 5-year-old girl.

Authorities in Newburgh, which is in Orange County about 60 miles north of New York City, issued the alert at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday but cancelled the child-abduction alert bulletin at 10:21 a.m. Thursday.

The group of children told police that two men got out of a pickup truck and grabbed the girl's mouth and neck and forced her into the truck shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday near South Junior High School, according to an earlier police news release.

Police soon issued the AMBER Alert for the missing child and were working with the FBI. Police told ABC News that as of 10 a.m. Thursday, no one had come forward to report a missing child in the area.

Newburgh police had told ABC News affiliate WABC earlier that they had no reason not to believe the group of kids who say they saw the abduction. The witnesses did not say whether the girl was with anyone at the time of the abduction.

"A guy came out of the pickup truck and grabbed her mouth and her neck and she was trying to scream and couldn't," a child told WABC. "They put her in a garbage bag. All you could see is her head. And they put her in the car and drove off."

Another child told WABC, "I saw the pickup truck. It had blue license plates, and when the man got out of the car with two bags, we started running."

The girl was described as possibly Hispanic, about 5 or 6 years old and 3 feet tall with long black hair and wearing a short-sleeve, bright-pink shirt with white stripes, according to the news release.

Now, police say, "There was no pickup truck, other vehicle or small child during the time of the reported incident. Detectives continuously reviewed video footage prior to, during and post the report for any possible incident. None were observed."

"The reporting children were observed playing around the school without incident."

Police have no plans to file charges against the children for making a false report.

*UPDATE: A Hardeman County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman told ABCNews.com Sunday that the two bodies found have not yet been identified.

The FBI and United States Marshal's Service are offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of Bain and her daughters, and the arrest of their alleged abductor.

(GUNTOWN, Miss.) -- Two bodies were found Saturday in Mississippi in the search for a missing Tennessee mother and her three daughters, which investigators said led them to issue an Amber Alert for the missing family.

When they announced the Ambert Alert, Mississippi police said only that new details led them to believe Jo Ann Bain, 31, and her three daughters, Adrienne, 14; Alexandria, 12; and Kyliyah, 8; were abducted and could be in extreme danger.

An FBI spokesman said this evening that the two bodies had been found, but said they had not yet been identified.

"The Medical Examiner is taking steps to identify those bodies," said Joel Siskovic, spokesman for the FBI in Memphis. "Our focus is on finding the suspect in returning the children and their mother."

The Tenessee family was last seen on April 27 leaving their home in Whiteville, which is located between Jackson and Memphis.

Police said they had reason to believe the missing mother and her three daughters were with Adam Christopher Mayes, 35, of Guntown, Miss.

"Early days of the investigation led us to suspect Adam Mayes," Siskovic said. "Other information led to a location in Mississippi where we executed federal search warrants. During the course of searching that location, two bodies were found."

The two bodies were found in Guntown at a residence where Mayes was last seen, he said.

"The fact that these two bodies were found at this location led to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue Amber Alerts that stated that we believe that the children and the mother were in extreme danger," Siskovic said.

Mayes, who was questioned by Hardeman County Police on Sunday, is believed to have cut his hair. Authorities said he may have also cut and dyed the hair of the three children to alter their appearances.

Earlier this week, investigators issued their first warrant for Mayes, charging him with filing a false report based on statements he made to investigators about the Bain family. Mayes then disappeared.

"We believe he has information on the whereabouts of this family," Hardeman County, Tenn., Sheriff John Doolan said at a news conference Wednesday.

Bain's Dodge Durango was found abandoned on a county road less than three miles from their home on Sunday.

The missing mom and her husband Gary were just days away from moving the family to Arizona when she and her children vanished.

The FBI is involved in the investigation since it crosses state lines, said Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

Roger Weber/Thinkstock(WHITEVILLE, Miss.) -- Mississippi police have issued an Amber Alert after new details have led them to determine a missing Tennessee mother and her three daughters were abducted and could be in extreme danger.

Jo Ann Bain and her daughters Adrienne, 14; Alexandria, 12; and Kyliyah, 8; have been missing since April 27. They were last seen leaving their home in Whiteville, which is located between Jackson and Memphis, on the morning of their disappearance.

Police said they have reason to believe the missing mother and her three daughters are with Adam Christopher Mayes, 35, of Guntown, Miss.

Mayes, who was questioned by Hardeman County Police on Sunday, is believed to have cut his hair. Authorities said he may have also cut and dyed the hair of the three children to alter their appearances.

Authorities said they will issue kidnap warrants for Mayes, who is considered armed and dangerous.

Earlier this week, investigators issued their first warrant for Mayes, charging him with filing a false report based on statements he made to investigators about the Bain family. Mayes then disappeared.

"We believe he has information on the whereabouts of this family," Hardeman County, Tenn., Sheriff John Doolan said at a news conference Wednesday.

Bain's Dodge Durango was found abandoned on a county road less than three miles from their home on Sunday.

The missing mom and her husband Gary were just days away from moving the family to Arizona when she and her children vanished.

The FBI is involved in the investigation since it crosses state lines, said Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

ABC News(HOUSTON) -- An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing 2-year-old boy in Liberty County, Texas.

Devin Davis disappeared around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon while his mother and sibling were taking a nap in a home they moved into last week. When they woke up, Devin's mother found the front door open and Devin nowhere to be found.

Police did not know whether Devin simply wandered off or was abducted, according to ABC News affiliate KTRK in Houston.

A search party was concerned about thick underbrush nearby, as well as bodies of water containing alligators and difficult, muddy terrain.

"We've had grown people missing in these woods," Scott added. "Man, it took four days to find them, and this is a 2-year-old."

More than 100 officials and volunteers were searching around the clock for Devin, according to KPRC in Houston. The searchers included the Houston Police dive team and Texas EquuSearch, according to KTRK.

Devin has red hair, is 30 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. The last outfit he was seen wearing was a red-and-gray jersey T-shirt, jeans and Spiderman tennis shoes.

Physical evidence was found behind the house, but authorities were not immediately revealing what the evidence was.

Devin's parents were working with the FBI.

Several tips were called into the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, but none have resulted in any leads. Those with information are encouraged to call 936-336-4500.﻿

ABC News(HOUSTON) -- A missing 18-month-old Texas boy was found unharmed Friday morning in a stolen vehicle which was obscured by heavy brush, police said.

Evan Miller, 18 months, and his 7-year-old sister were left in a jeep with the motor running while their mother went inside of a Houston Walmart to use the ATM at about 5:45 p.m. Thursday. A man jumped into the car and started to drive away, but Miller's sister was able to escape.

An Amber Alert was immediately issued for the boy, but was canceled after he was found, shortly after 8:30 a.m. Friday morning near the Walmart parking lot where the car was stolen.

Miller is currently at Texas Children's Hospital undergoing an evaluation.

"He appears to be okay," John Cannon, spokesperson for the Houston Police Department told ABC News.

Cannon said despite the proximity to the Walmart, the Jeep was difficult for even police helicopters to locate.

"The vehicle was well hidden and wedged between the building and some high foliage that even concealed it from the air," Cannon said. "The suspect hid it well."

Cannon said it was unclear how long the suspect had the vehicle or whether he realized Miller was in the car when he stole it.

Suisun City Police Department(SUISUN CITY, Calif.) -- A teenage girl in California who admitted to faking her own abduction in an effort “to get sympathy from her family” could soon be facing fines of more than $30,000 from law enforcement for wasting police resources.

An Amber Alert was issued for 17-year-old Christina Almanza on Dec. 8 when her family reported her missing after receiving a voicemail and “disturbing” text messages from Almanza.

“The voicemail and text messages stated that she, and possibly other females, were being held against their will in a basement and that one female had possibly been killed,” according to a police report from the Suisun City Police Department in California.

The teen was found the next day when officials went to a home to seek information from one of Almanza’s contacts. When they arrived, they found the blue 1999 Oldsmobile minivan that she was last seen driving parked in the driveway.

Almanza confessed that the text messages had been fake and told authorities that she did not expect law enforcement to get involved.

Reports said that Almanza faked the abduction because she was afraid of telling her family she was pregnant. While police did not medically confirm whether or not she was pregnant, they said the following:

“During the investigation, we were receiving information from different sources believing that she may be pregnant and that may be what caused her to disappear,” Suison Police Cmdr. Tim Mattos told ABC News.

Mattos added that Almanza already has a two-year-old child.

Suisun Police Chief Ed Dadisho told ABC News that the futile search was frustrating because of the other crimes the police force could have been fighting.

Dadisho said the police department is filing for restitution and is in the process of calculating how much money was lost in the search. He said that the tally so far has come to $30,000 for a day and a half of searching.

Seven police agencies were involved in the search on federal, state and local levels.